A Leaf on the Wind
by aridancer
Summary: Wash discovers that he's not onboard Serenity anymore. He was in pain for a fleeting moment, but now? He's in a grassy field, and he's alone... but not for long. One-shot.


"…Soar," Hoban Washburne trailed off as he finished his brand new, new favorite saying. He blinked, glancing around with more than a hint of confusion. "Well, that's different."

Instead of furiously gripping the controls in the cockpit of _Serenity_ , the ship he'd been piloting for years, Wash was standing in the middle of a field of grass. There was a picturesque vision of mountains in the distance, and rolling hills not too far away from where he was. The gentle sound of running water alerted him to the presence of a river or a lake somewhere nearby.

Wash flexed his hands nervously, unsure of what to do with them. "At least it's a nice day out. And there don't seem to be any Reavers around, trying to tear my face off or eat my insides." As soon as he finished saying that, Wash felt a sudden presence. He whipped his head around to see a large golden cat padding softly towards him.

"That's a—Gah!" Wash exclaimed, taking a few steps back and desperately wishing that his wife Zoe was around. She'd know how to handle this sort of situation. Where was she, anyway? For that matter, where was the ship? And Mal, and the rest of the crew? And space?

The cat cleared its throat, and Wash gulped, jumping slightly. Could cats even do that? Wait, that wasn't the right word… The creature looked like something that had gone extinct back on Earth-That-Was. A hippo? Wolf? No, not exactly…

"Lion!" Wash exclaimed. There were so many animals that had died out—it was hard to keep track of all of them. He was momentarily pleased with himself; until he remembered that the lion was coming towards him with an intense look in its eyes. "Gah! Uh, nice kitty? Please don't hurt me…"

The lion made a rumbling sound, and Wash instinctively flinched—until he realized that it was… chuckling. Could lions chuckle? It wasn't like he'd ever come across one before, so maybe it wasn't so far-fetched of a notion.

"Son of Adam, have no fear. You have arrived in a place of peace and rest," the lion said in a comforting tone.

"You talked. Talking. A talking lion. That can't be normal," Wash spluttered incredulously.

"I am Aslan. And this is my country." Aslan glanced around, as if he were gesturing to the land around him.

"Uh. I see. This land is yours. That's nice," Wash said awkwardly. "Er. How exactly did I get here?"

Aslan's tawny golden eyes softened, and Wash's heart jumped in his chest as his last memory of the escape from the Reavers flashed painfully into his vision. It only lasted for a split second, but a few tears slipped down his face as he remembered the giant spike that tore through his body, and his wife's voice fading into the black. Zoe…

"Ah. Well, I see. Are you saying that this is some sort of…" Wash looked around, absentmindedly holding a hand to the spot the spike had driven through. There was no sign it had ever happened. "A heavenly sort of place?"

"If that will put your mind at ease… it is indeed."

"I guess that's nice." Wash did feel as though a wave of peace had enveloped him; like sunlight through the windows of _Serenity_. He was aware now of the fact that he was no longer alive—not in the right sense of the word, at least. "But what am I supposed to do here? My crew needs me. My wife needs… I need her."

"Your comrades and loved ones are safe now, where they are," Aslan said gently. "You must wait with patience for them to arrive in this place. Once they are here, it will feel as though little time has gone by. Time passes differently here."

"I don't know, I can't just… Maybe you're right." Wash looked up at the sky with a slight smile on his face. "Maybe it's time for this leaf on the wind to rest. Zoe, Mal… I'll see you all again." He turned towards Aslan. "What happens now?"

"Come with me, and meet the others who have come here before you." Aslan began to walk in the direction of the mountains, setting a slow and graceful pace for Wash to follow. After a moment, Wash fell into step behind Aslan.

"You know, it really does feel pretty peaceful here," Wash admitted; more to himself than to Aslan. He started humming a gentle tune that didn't really come from any particular song he'd ever known. A few simple words came to mind, and he sang them aloud softly. "There's no place I can be, since I've found Serenity… But you can't take the sky from me."


End file.
